No

80 – July 2016

International Student Migration to

Ireland

Mary Gilmartin (Maynooth University

Dept. Geography)

Pablo Rojas Coppari (Maynooth University

Dept. Sociology and Migrant Rights

Centre Ireland)

Dean Phelan (Maynooth University

Dept. Geography and NIRSA)

NIR

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Iontas Building, Maynooth University,

Maynooth, Co Kildare, Ireland.

Áras Iontas, Ollscoil na hÉireann, Má Nuad,

Má Nuad, Co Chill Dara, Éire. Tel: + 353 (0) 1 7083350 Fax: + 353 (0) 1 7086456

Email: nirsa@nuim.ie

Web: http://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/nirsa

1

Introduction: The Internationalisation of Education

Education is becoming international, across all levels of educational systems. This is most

visible in higher education, where internationalisation has come to have a variety of

meanings. These include the internationalisation of curricula; institutional strategies of

internationalisation; the convergence of education systems (e.g. the influence of the Bologna

reform process in European higher education); and internationalisation policies at regional,

national and supranational scales (Kehm and Teichler 2007: 265). The internationalisation of

education is not only happening in universities. Internationalisation is also taking place

through language teaching, specifically what Park has called the 'English frenzy' (Park 2011:

446). The global growth in the private English language teaching industry takes a number of

forms: the recruitment of native English (or, often, white) teachers in countries such as South

Korea, Japan and China, to teach both children and adults; and the growth in the number of

private language schools in English-speaking countries, like the UK, Australia and Ireland,

which provide tuition in English as well as an initial route to legal migration. There is also

some evidence of internationalisation at primary and second level. Examples include the so-

called 'wild geese' families from South Korea, where children - accompanied usually by their

mother - are sent abroad to study. Similar patterns are evident in the astronaut families and

parachute or satellite children from Hong Kong, Taiwan or China. In these cases, entire

families move to the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and eventually a parent,

usually the father, returns to the original country to work. Sometimes both parents return,

leaving the children alone to study (Waters 2015). The internationalisation of education is a

widespread, and growing, phenomenon.

2

International Student Migration: the international dimension

International student migration, sometimes called ISM, is a crucial component of the process

of internationalisation in education. The OECD defines international students as "those who

have crossed borders for the purposes of study" (2013: 1), but this apparently straightforward

definition masks the very broad range of international students and international student

migration. International students can be short-term or long-term, full-time or part-time.

International students study at all stages of the educational cycle, and have a range of

different motivations for, and experiences of, study abroad. Definitions of international

student migration are perhaps most nuanced at tertiary level. King and Raghuram (2013:

129), for example, distinguish between degree/programme and credit mobility.

Degree/programme mobility refers to a student completing a full course of study in another

country, while credit mobility refers to a student spending some time in another country as

part of an organised programme of study. Van Mol and Timmerman use slightly different

terminology to distinguish between 'free movers' and organised student mobility. 'Free

movers' are those who organise their study abroad independently, while organised student

mobility requires participation in a student mobility scheme, whether at institution level (in

the case of Junior Year Abroad studies in the United States) or at regional level (the Erasmus

programme in Europe) (Van Mol and Timmerman 2014; Brooks and Waters 2013). However,

there are other categories of international student migrants. King and Raghuram describe this

as "a third type of mobility, less formalised" (2013: 129). While they mention summer

schools and field trips, they could also have included language education, as there is also

short- and longer-term migration - both formal and informal - linked to language proficiency.

This variety means that it is difficult to accurately capture the extent and range of

international student migration. There are some sources that help to provide a snapshot. The

3

broad definition of international student is not limited to tertiary education. However, this is

the focus of the OECD, UNESCO and EUROSTAT when gathering statistics. In 2011, the

OECD estimated that there were around 4.3 million students enrolled in tertiary educaton

outside their country of citizenship, with the United States (17%), the UK (13%), Australia

(6%), Germany (6%) and France (6%) as the key destinations (OECD 2013: 1-2). In that

year, the largest numbers of international third-level students came from China (723,000),

India (223,000) and Korea (139,000) (OECD 2013: 2). In 2013, Eurostat calculated that

around 1.45 million tertiary students in the EU were "from abroad" - that is, studying in a

different country from where they completed their secondary education. This figure includes

students who are participating in organised study abroad programmes such as Erasmus+,

which facilitates short-term intra-EU student mobility. Table 1 shows the overall number of

students, and the percentage from Europe, for selected European countries.

Table 1: International tertiary students in selected European countries, 2013

Country Number of international tertiary students % European

Austria 70,852 85.3

Denmark 29,480 81.2

France 228,639 N/A

Germany 196,619 34.8

Ireland 12,861 52.6

Portugal 14,541 20.0

Sweden 25,437 26.6

UK 416,693 26.8

TOTAL 1,449,626

Source: Eurostat 2016 (online data code: educ_uoe_mobs02)

Around 40% of international students study in European countries, and the number of

international students in Europe increased by over 110% in the period from 2000 to 2010

(European Migration Network 2012: 10-11). While there are national-scale variations in the

countries of origin of international students, some key source countries outside Europe are

4

China, India and the United States (Eurostat 2016). In the United States, which is the country

with the highest number of international students, the main countries of origin are China,

India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada (Zong and Batalova 2016). Combined figures

of international students for the US, UK, Australia, France and Germany increased by over

60% between 2000 and 2010 (calculated from King and Raghuram 2013: 128).

The growth in international student migration has led to a corresponding growth in

academic research on this issue. Madge et al. (2009) have suggested that there are three broad

strands to this literature. The first conceptualizes international student migration from the

perspective of migration studies. The second highlights ISM as part of the globalization of

higher education, while the third deals with questions of pedagogy (Madge et al 2009). This

literature is broad, and expanding, though links between the different strands remain

underdeveloped (Madge et al 2015: 682-3). Russell King and Parvati Raghuram suggest that

research on ISM is a 'nascent field', and it is currently best described as 'simplistic and

reductionist' (2013:134). In response, Madge et al advocate for a focus on "international

study" rather than on "international students", in order to extend our theoretical, spatial and

temporary understanding of this ever-increasing phenomenon (Madge et al 2015). In making

this claim, however, they also acknowledge the ways in which "many places and people are

marginal to, or completely absent from, dominant imaginations (and realities) of 'global' HE"

(Madge et al. 2015: 695). We contend that international student migration to Ireland is one of

these marginal sites.

5

International Student Migration to Ireland

Ireland's International Education Strategy 2010-2015 was published in 2010. Its stated

objective was for Ireland to "become internationally recognised and ranked as a world leader

in the delivery of high-quality international education by providing a unique experience and

long-term value to students" (Department of Education and Skills 2010: 29). The strategy set

out ambitious targets. These included significant increases in international student numbers at

all levels of education, including higher education, advanced research, exchange and JYA

students, English-language students and offshore students. The strategy also asserted that

Ireland would increase the economic impact of the international education sector from €900

million in 2010 to €1.2 billion in 2015 (Department of Education and Skills 2010: 12). The

impact of this strategy can been seen in the growth of international student migration to

Ireland, particularly from outside the EEA.

International student migration to Ireland is measured in two broad ways. The first is

through statistics on migrant flow, and the second is through statistics on migrant stock.

Migrant flow measures the movement of people: the numbers of people moving to and from

Ireland over a particular time period. Student migrant flow, then, provides statistics on the

numbers of people moving to Ireland for the purpose of study. Migrant stock counts the

number of migrants present in Ireland at a particular point in time. Student migrant stock thus

gives an indicator of the number of people registered as students in Ireland. While these are

apparently straightforward measures, they are in practice difficult to capture. It is not easy to

accurately measure student migrant flow, because many people who move to Ireland to study

- for example, from EEA countries - do not require permission from the Irish state to do so,

and there is no formal record of their move to Ireland as students. Nationals of some

countries are required to apply for a visa prior to entering Ireland (see Appendix 1), while

6

others are granted a visa waiver (this includes citizens of the United States, Malaysia, Canada

and Brazil) and can proceed directly to registration. However, all non-EEA nationals who

wish to study in Ireland for more than three months are required to register with the Garda

National Immigration Bureau. According to the Department of Justice, students represented

33% of the overall non-EEA immigration to Ireland in 2013, and almost 49,500 persons were

given permission to be in the State as students in the period from January to the end of

November 2014. In 2015 10,300 Student Visas were granted (for those who come from a

Visa Required country) of which 4,100 were for short stay (less than 3 months). The grant

rate was 91%. Up to June 2016 the number of visa applications is up by 15.9% compared to

the same time in 2015.1 Publicly available INIS (Irish Naturalisation and Immigration

Service) statistics on non-EEA student visas are provided in Table 2: this information ends in

Quarter 3, 2013. The figures in Table 2 do not include international students who apply for a

student visa on arrival in Ireland. However, all students from outside the EEA must register

with the GNIB within 90 days of their arrival in Ireland.

Table 2: Non-EEA student visa applications and acceptances, 2010-2013

Year No of

applications

No of

student

visas issued

Acceptance

rate

Key source countries

2010 n/a n/a 87% n/a

2011 5,412 4,741 87.6% Saudi Arabia, China, India, Kuwait,

UAE

2012 7,790 6,939 89.1% Saudi Arabia, China, Russia, India,

Kuwait

*2013 8,752 7,584 87% Saudi Arabia, China, Russia. India,

Turkey

*1 January to 30 September 2013 only

Source: INIS (2013)

1 This information was made available at the Quarterly Immigration Information Network Meeting attended by

Department of Justice officials and one of the authors, among others, on 3 June 2016.

7

The second set of statistics on international student migration to Ireland relates to

migrant stock. Figures for international students in Ireland are haphazard for a variety of

reasons. First, the definition of 'international' is inconsistent: it can be measured using

domicile or nationality, but these are not the same. As a consequence, not all international

students are necessarily counted as 'international'. Second, international students in Ireland

study in three broad sectors: higher education, further education, and language education

(primarily English language). Most higher education institutions are public, most language

education takes place in private institutions, while a mix of public and private providers offer

further education. While statistics for higher education institutions, specifically those funded

by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), are easily accessible, private institutions make

very limited information on enrolments publicly available.

An audit of international students in Ireland, carried out in 2009, suggested that there

were 34,557 international students registered in Ireland in March of that year. Of these,

38.82% were enrolled in higher education, 26.01% in further education, and 30.02% in the

English language sector. Key details are shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Non-EEA students in Ireland by sector and nationality, March 2009

Higher Education Further Education Language Education

Nationality Number/% Nationality Number/% Nationality Number/%

China 4,259 (31.8) Mauritius 2,507 (27.9) Brazil 4,152 (40.0)

US 2,166 (16.1) China 1,650 (18.4) China 2,770 (26.7)

India 1,578 (11.8) Pakistan 1,557 (17.3) Mauritius 1,026 (9.9)

Malaysia 1,177 (8.8) India 1,062 (11.8) Korea 751 (7.2)

Canada 521 (3.9) Brazil 482 (5.4) Mongolia 456 (4.4)

Other 3,714(27.6) Other 1,731 (19.3) Other 1,224 (11.8)

Total 13,415 (100) Total 8,989 (100) Total 10,379 (100)

Source: Department of Justice and Equality (2009)

Finn and O'Connell, using figures supplied by INIS, suggest that the total number of students

registered with the GNIB in March for the following three years was 31,902 (2010), 31,923

8

(2011) and 30,324 (2012) (Finn and O'Connell 2012: 33). An answer to a parliamentary

question in 2014 suggested that there were around 36,000 non-EEA students in Ireland: 38%

of whom were language students, and 40% of whom were degree students. However, these

figures were described as 'a snapshot' and 'not reliable' by the Minister, Frances Fitzgerald

(Fitzgerald 2014).

Within these overall figures, the number of full time third level international students

has increased considerably since 2000. Samers indicated that there were ca 7,400 third level

international students in Ireland in 2000, and 12,700 in 2004 (Samers 2010: 30). UNESCO

counted 13,489 third level international students in 2010 (UNESCO 2012: 132). HEA

statistics from 2014-15 show 14,305 full-time third level students from outside the EU

(included on the basis of domicile) in Irish universities, colleges and institutes of technology:

8.3% of the total number of students. There are considerable variations in these numbers: just

over 60% of the student body at RCSI is from outside the EU (Malaysia, Canada, Kuwait and

Saudi Arabia), compared to 0.8% of students at NCAD. The main domiciles of origin, for

full-time students in HEA-funded institutions, are shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Main domiciles of origin for full time students in HEA-funded institutions,

2014-15

Country Male Female Total

Ireland (inc. Northern Ireland) 77,073 77,908 154,981

United States 957 2,462 3,419

China 889 856 1,745

Malaysia 642 852 1,494

Great Britain 702 748 1,450

Canada 482 609 1,091

Saudi Arabia 579 478 1,057

Brazil 494 528 1,022

India 513 265 778

Germany 231 315 546

Total 85,439 87,785 173,224

Source: HEA (2015)

9

While it appears that the number of language students in Ireland has also increased

considerably in recent years, there are limited reliable statistics on this sector. Again, the

response to a parliamentary question provides the best indicator of the number of

international language students in Ireland (see Table 5).

Table 5: Language students in Ireland, 2009-2014

Year* Number

2009 10,379

2010 8,057

2011 9,272

2012 8,802

2013 9,454

2014 14,081

Source: Fitzgerald (2014)

*The figures provided represent a snapshot of registrations on the GNIB system in March of

each year

For a number of years, Education in Ireland produced a report on international students in

Irish higher education that also provided details of "offshore" students. The report defined

offshore students as including students attending offshore or international branch campuses,

enrolled in double or joint degrees, or enrolled in distance education courses. The 2012

report recorded 6,166 offshore students during 2011-12, 19% of the total number of

international students (2012: 13).

Though the statistics on both international student migrant flow and international

student migrant stock are incomplete and inconsistent, there has been a clear and

concentrated effort to increase international student numbers in Ireland: for economic, social

and cultural reasons. The economic benefits of international students are clear: these include

significantly higher fee income to higher education institutions, fees to other education

providers, and economic contributions through rent, other spending, and family visits.

10

Education in Ireland estimated, in 2012, that international education was a €1 billion annual

industry in Ireland, with €700 million coming from higher education fees and spending, and

€300 million from language students (Education in Ireland 2012: 9-10). Since Zhang et al

estimate that the Irish government, in 2010, spent €1.7 billion on higher and further education

(Zhang et al 2014), this shows how international students make a very important financial

contribution to Irish higher education institutes. International student migration to Ireland

helps to improve the rankings and reputation of Irish higher education institutions, since the

proportion of international students is one of the key indicators of internationalisation, which

in turn is an important quantitative measure in assessing global higher education rankings. It

also provides an opportunity for Ireland to "strengthen its networks of influence"

(Department of Education and Skills 2010: 17) with alumni based in other countries, and with

the broader Irish diaspora. There are also regional initiatives that recognise the benefits of

international students. For example, Dublin City has tried to develop a strategy for attracting

international students, cognisant of the fact that international students are concentred (almost

60% of the national total) in the capital, and make a significant economic and cultural

contribution to the city (Gebhardt 2011: 3).

The International Student Migration Regime in Ireland

A range of government departments and state agencies - including the Department of

Education and Skills and Enterprise Ireland - have a stated interest in increasing international

student migration to Ireland. Given this, it is important to consider how the international

student migration regime in Ireland actually works. First, in order to register as a non-EEA

student in Ireland, the potential student has to supply a letter of acceptance from a recognised

education provider (for a course of at least 15 hours a week), proof of payment of the entire

course fee, evidence of monetary support of €7,000 for the initial stay, and evidence of

11

private medical insurance (Finn and O'Connell 2012: 30). Required registration with GNIB

costs an additional €300, and this fee is paid on first registration and on any subsequent

renewal. The education provider must be included on the Interim List of Eligible Providers

(ILEP.

The second component is the regulation of international student migrants once they

arrive in Ireland. International student migrants are permitted to work. This is described as

the 'Student Work Concession', and it was first introduced in 2001 (Finn and O'Connell 2012:

36) as part of a broader strategy to make Ireland attractive to international students. As the

International Organization for Migration (IOM) argued, 'if international students are to be

attracted while they are also being expected to pay market-driven tuition fees, authorization

to work in the host country will go a long way to persuading them to come' (IOM 2008: 117).

Currently, the work concession gives students permission to work a maximum of 40 hours a

week in May, June, July, August and from 15 December to 15 January only. Outside these

dates, students are permitted to work a maximum of 20 hours a week. They are also required

to have a minimum attendance of 85% on language courses. However, while international

students in Ireland are permitted to work, they do not have access to either contributory or

non-contributory public funds (including social welfare and the public health system). They

cannot access housing supports if they fall into destitution, and the lack of access to public

funds prevents service providers and other agencies funded by the HSE (Health Service

Executive) from working directly with international students experiencing destitution. In

addition, international student migrants are not permitted to have dependants in the State

(even if family formation happens while in Ireland). So, while international students may

work, they have limited other rights in Ireland.

12

The third component is the options that are available to international students in

Ireland when they have completed their studies. There are limits on the length of time

international students can remain in Ireland as students. Language students can now register

for a maximum of 3 8-month student visas, and must leave the country when their third visa

expires, unless they register for a degree programme. International students who are

registered on degree programmes can stay in Ireland for a maximum of 7 years (though there

are some exceptions, for example in the case of medical students or PhD students). On

graduation, students may apply to remain in Ireland under the Third Level Graduate Scheme,

and then seek employment for periods of between 6 months and a year. However, in contrast

to other countries such as Australia, Canada and France, Ireland does not offer privileged

routes to citizenship for graduates (Robertson 2011; She and Wotherspoon 2013). In fact,

time spent as a student in Ireland does not count towards eligibility for citizenship.

However, this straightforward description of the current international student regime

in Ireland masks the extent to which this regime has been altered in recent years. Moves to

change the international student regime began in 2010, when an Interdepartmental Committee

made suggestions for a ‘new immigration regime for full time non-EEA students’

(Department of Justice and Equality 2010). “Immigration policy makers cannot afford to be

naïve”, the report stated (2010: 2). It continued:

Economic migration is a global phenomenon and by far the easiest way of

moving legally from a developing country to live and work in a much wealthier

society is as a student. …. Indeed virtually all of the immigration abuse that is

associated with student immigration is driven by this factor, whether through the

operation of disreputable colleges or the behaviour of students who do not attend

their classes. (Department of Justice and Equality 2010: 2)

The recommendations of the Interdepartmental Committee, underpinned by a belief that the

international student regime at the time was leading to immigration abuse, have resulted in

13

significant changes in order to regulate the 'problem' of 'disreputable colleges' and badly-

behaved students. Key changes are listed in Table 6.

Table 6: Selected changes to Student Immigration Regime in Ireland, 2011-2016

Date Change

1 January 2011 New time limits

1 April 2011 New funding requirements on first registration

19 November 2012 Doubled fees for an immigration certificate of registration

January 2015 Change to Student Work Concession

1 October 2015 Changes to holiday entitlements of language students

January 2016 New list of eligible language programmes

Reduction in permission for language students (from 1 year to 8

months)

For education providers, particularly language schools, the changes to the international

student migration regime have been significant. The attention paid to language schools has

intensified because of the closure – sometimes overnight – of 17 language schools since 2014

(Irish Council for International Students 2015). Most of these schools had no form of learner

protection so, when they closed, students lost their up-front fee payments. Those advance fee

payments were necessary for students to get student visas. Because of broader concerns about

English Language teaching, and the effects of reputational damage on the education industry

in Ireland more broadly, there has been a concerted effort to regulate English language

teaching. Now, there is a two-stage process for recognition for English language courses. The

first is QQI (Quality and Qualifications Ireland) certification of the educational standard of

the course, and the second is certification by INIS. Once a course is approved at both stages,

it is included in the ILEP (Interim List of Eligible Providers). By January 2016, 78 education

providers had been certified for English language courses, most of them in the Dublin region

(INIS 2016a). Student visas will only be issued to students registered for a language course in

an institution included in ILEP.

14

For international students in Ireland, key changes include increased fees, new time

limits and alterations to the Student Work Concession. The new time limits introduced in

January 2011 meant that a large number of students became at risk of 'timing out', or not

being allowed to renew their permission as they had completed their authorised period of

stay. In response to the concern expressed by NGOs and international students alike, the

Department of Justice and Equality introduced the Student Probationary Extension, a scheme

which allowed those students who had completed their authorised period of stay, and who

had kept their permission to remain up to date, to register for an additional two year

probationary period. During that period students kept their current immigration permission

while permitted to work for a maximum of 40 hours per week without being required to hold

a work permit. After the two years probationary period, students could apply for a Stamp 4

permission to remain in the State; it is estimated that between 2,500 and 3,000 participants

benefited from this scheme as well as their respective qualifying dependents. However, there

were no such concessions in relation to changes to the Student Work Concession in January

2015. Until that date, international student visa holders could work up to 20 hours a week

during term time, and up to 40 hours a week outside term time. In practice, this meant that for

half the duration of each one year student visa, the student could work full time. The changes

introduced in January 2015 restricted full time work to specific time periods. This, according

to a Government policy statement, served to 'align the work concession with the traditional

academic year' in order to strengthen the Student Work Concession (and prevent what was

described as 'immigration abuse'). Of course, few international students in Ireland study

under these traditional academic structures, and changes to the Student Work Concession

have created difficulties for many students, who need to work in order to meet the costs of

living and studying in Ireland.

15

International students at work in Ireland

While the work experiences of international students in Ireland have been marked as

potentially problematic by policy makers, this is specifically in relation to the potential for

“immigration abuse”. However, there is limited attention to the role of international students

as workers in Ireland, despite the realisation that 'most studies on student migration highlight

the extent to which employment is an increasingly important part of the lives of student

migrants' (Raghuram 2013: 140-1). Some small-scale qualitative research on migrants in

Ireland touches, lightly, on international students at work. For example, Darcy Pan's

ethnographic work shows how Chinese student migrants often work more than their legal

entitlement, and use 'sophisticated arrangements' with other students to cover missed

attendance at class (2011: 269). Aoife Smith, in her research with au pairs in Ireland, found

that many had come to Ireland on student visas, and became au pairs "due to the lack of

employment options and the need to finance their studies and stay" (2015: 173). In her

research on workers in low-skilled service sectors in Dublin – specifically catering, cleaning

and security – Siobhán McPhee found that many moved to Ireland using student visas

(McPhee 2016). In all these cases, international students are employed in sectors with high

levels of precarity and low levels of pay. This is similar to Australia, where Hugo found that

83.5% of student visa holders in 2004 were participating in the Australian Labour Force,

concentrated in lower-skilled jobs such as accommodation, cafes and restaurants and retail

trade, and in seasonal harvesting (Hugo 2006: 219-24). There are also similarities with the

situation of Chinese students in Japan, who are concentrated in lower-skilled work such as

restaurants, manufacturing, retail, and the entertainment industry (Liu-Farrer 2009: 189-90).

The work of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), a Dublin-based NGO that

provides support to migrants in Ireland, offers new insights into the experiences of

16

international students in Ireland.2 MRCI has retained case file statistics for current and former

student visa holders who contacted the organisation for assistance, and these statistics offer

an insight into the extent and concentration of international student employment in Ireland. In

total, just over 2,100 people with student status at the time contacted MRCI in order to look

for assistance. The majority – 57.4% - were female. The main countries of origin for these

students were the Philippines (17.1%), China (7.2%), Mauritius (5.2%) and India (4.5%). Of

the 76.8% who were in employment, the main sectors of employment were Hotel, Restaurant

and Catering (23.2%), Service and Retail (19%), Cleaning and Maintenance (7%), and

Domestic and Carework (5.7%). These are the sectors which have experienced a sharp

decrease in employment permits being issued, and also sectors in which vacancy shortages

have been identified by the most recent by National Skills Bulletin (SOLAS 2015). From this,

we can see that international students are now performing the jobs that were once filled by

employment permit holders, without the associated rights. These are also the most

unregulated sectors, prone to low pay and flexible hours, with the threat of exploitation. The

precarious nature of this employment means that it is relatively easy for international students

to fall into irregularity, particularly given the new requirements for the renewal of residency

as well as the maximum years they can spend in the State. This is particularly the case for

students who are not in third-level education. These students cannot avail of the Graduate

Scheme, so their only option is to make an application for an employment permit. However,

these requirements are too onerous for the sectors of employment in which non-degree

students work, with the consequent risk of falling into irregularity. MRCI statistics provide

evidence of this transition. A significant number of people who originally moved to Ireland

as international students had become undocumented by the time they contacted MRCI. In

total, MRCI dealt with almost 1,100 cases of students who had become undocumented, most

2 We obtained this data through one of the authors, who works at MRCI and who received authorisation from

MRCI to use the data for the purposes of this working paper.

17

of whom were female, and many of whom continued to work in similar sectors (Hotel,

Restaurant and Catering; Service and Retail; Cleaning and Maintenance; Domestic and

Carework).

Information from MRCI also highlights the extent to which international students are

vulnerable to exploitation at work. The work concession means that the majority of students

are part-time workers. Part-time work is more present in unregulated 3D sectors (dirty,

dangerous, difficult). Limited financial resources, reduced social networks and lack of access

to social protection act as traps for exploitative employment. The employment of students as

au pairs is a clear example, with students performing child-care duties under terms of

employment which do not meet legal standards (Smith 2015). Irregular hours of employment

often have implications for students’ attendance, which in turn has implications for residency

renewal and the risk of becoming undocumented. The blurred lines between their identities as

workers and students often push them into irregularity and to experiences of poverty and

destitution. In turn, the lack of access to social protection also means that students think twice

before reporting an exploitative employer or even leaving such employers.

Conclusion

As Ireland seeks to further develop its international education strategy, it is crucial that the

broader effects of that strategy are investigated. In this paper, we have paid particular

attention to international student migration as one of the visible outcomes of the

internationalisation of education in Ireland. We have highlighted the growth in student

numbers in the higher and language education sectors, and the wide-ranging and fluid

attempts to regulate international student migration and international student migrants. These

attempts have created hierarchies of international students, prioritising those who have

18

independent wealth and who are registered for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

These hierarchies are underpinned by a belief that international students should be full-time

students, and that students who work are potential threats to the integrity of the Irish

immigration regime. Yet, as a range of data sources show, international students play an

important role in the Irish labour market where, because of their student visa status, they are

vulnerable to exploitation. As the internationalisation strategy for education in Ireland gathers

momentum, the complexity of international student experiences and the crucial, though

hidden, role of international student migrants in the Irish labour market requires our critical

attention.

19

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22

Appendix 1: Countries whose citizens require a visa to enter Ireland (Source: INIS

2016b

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Angola

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belarus

Benin

Bhutan

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Burkina Faso

Burma

Burundi

Cambodia

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

China

Colombia

Comoros

Congo

Cote d'Ivoire

Cuba

Djibouti

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

Eritrea

Equatorial Guinea

Ethiopia

Faroe Islands

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Ghana

Greenland

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Haiti

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Jamaica

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Korea (North)

Kosovo

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Lebanon

Liberia

Libya

Macedonia

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Micronesia

Moldova

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Namibia

Nepal

Niger

Nigeria

Oman

Pakistan

Palau

Palestinian National

Authority

Papua New Guinea

Peru

Philippines

Qatar

Russian Federation

Rwanda

Sao Tome and Principe

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Sierra Leone

Somalia

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Syria

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

Uzbekistan

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe